Argentina
Argentine Wine
Argentina makes wine at altitude. The vineyards run along the eastern side of the Andes, and the good ones are high — 900 to 1,500 metres in Mendoza, and above 2,000 in Salta — where the thin air is hot by day and cold by night, and the rainfall is close to nil.
The regions and grapes
Malbec is the national red, and Mendoza is where it is grown. Within Mendoza, the sub-regions matter more than the province name: Uco Valley and Luján de Cuyo are the two to look for, both higher and cooler than the plain. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Bonarda follow behind. In white, Torrontés — aromatic, dry, mostly from Salta — is Argentina's own.
What to expect
Malbec is dark, soft in tannin and generous with fruit, which is why it converts people who find Bordeaux austere. The altitude wines are the more interesting half of the category: cooler nights hold acidity, so a high-site Uco Valley Malbec has structure that a supermarket bottle does not. Argentina remains one of the best value-per-dollar sources of serious red wine on the list.
Serving
Malbec at 16–18°C. Torrontés at 9–11°C, and drink it young — it is an aromatic wine and the aromatics fade.
Susana Balbo Crios Malbec 2023 (1x75cl)
Susana Balbo Barrel Fermented Torrontes 2024 (1x75cl)
Susana Balbo Crios Torrontes 2024 (1x75cl)
Vaglio Malbec Mendoza 2023 (1x75cl)
Otronia Block 3&6 Chardonnay 2020 (1x75cl)
Casarena Reserve Malbec 2022 (1x75cl)
Cheval Des Andes 2012 (1x75cl)
Susana Balbo Brioso 2022 (Wine Stain Label) (1x75cl)
Susana Balbo Brioso 2022 (1x75cl)
Vaglio, Temple, Mendoza 2019 (1x75cl)
Trivento Reserve Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (1x75cl)
Trivento Reserve Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (1x75cl)
Trivento Reserve Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 (1x75cl)
Susana Balbo, Nosotros Malbec, Mendoza 2019 (1x75cl)
Trapiche Oak Cask Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (1x75cl)
Trapiche Merlot 2022 (1x75cl)
Chakana Nuna Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (1x75cl)
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